New Highway & the airport

Yes, I have done this trip a couple times past week or so.

Come off at the Santa Ana exit, turn left at the lights at bottom of exit ramp. Proceed along the major raod there (Pizza Hut on right, and every other fast food joint is on that road you can think of). You come to a T-junction after approx 3 miles, Panasonic factory is on your right. Turn right there. Go approx 1 – 1.5 miles, and will come to set of lights, turn left and then pretty much immediately right…you are following signs to the “Marriott Hotel” …just keep on that road, go past the Marriott Hotel (on right side), then turn 1st left after Marriott Hotel (by side of the Intel Plant), then right at end of that road, and you come to the main highway between San Jose and the airport.

Sounds complicated but really isn’t…the total distance is approx 4 – 4.5 miles from new coastal highway to the entrance of the main San Jose – Airport highway (Interamericana). Takes about 10 minutes no traffic, double or tripple that if traffic is heavy.

Reverse this for getting airport to coastal highway….

Hope this helps.

[quote=”johnlack”]
Reverse this for getting airport to coastal highway….

Which exit (name??) do you take from the Airport to do the cross country drive to the new highway by Santa Anna? Have they installed signs to direct you? I know this is against CR gov’t logic but I thought I would ask.

[quote=”rcpoppell”]I traveled the new highway on Monday making my way from Orotina to the airport. I saved time on the new highway and enjoyed the straight across route afforded by the bridges. I traveled at 9am and there was no traffic.
I took the Coyol exit and wound up dinking and dunking into the airport on the minor blacktop that comes in by the cargo areas.
Apparently I should have used an exit further along and come in through Santa Ana.
Can anyone describe the best approach to the airport in this case?[/quote]

Living in both Dominical and the La Guacima areas we regularly travel the new highway now. The future airport exit will be at the Coyol-Ciruelas-Siquiares exit which now has a fairly large roundabout. From this exit there is a new roadway (currently unfinished due to lack of expropriations) which will connect with the General Canas (Airport) highway. It is expected to be at least several months before this roadway is usable. It should make the distance from the Airport to the Caldera Highway about 10 minutes. From the Coyol-Ciruelas-Siquiares roundabout it is about 20 minutes to Orotina, 1 hour to Jaco, less than 2 hours to Quepos and 2 1/2 hours to Dominical. The final 5 kilometers of roadway just North of Dominical is in its final stages of construction and should be completed within several months. What previously took close to 4 hours to drive is now a very comfortable and easy 2 1/2 hour drive!
Hope this helps future travelers from the airport to the beautiful Southern zone.
Bob& Ione

At this time I don’t believe there is an easy access from the Airport. It will most likely be several months before this new access is constructed. Signage and directions are limited and most likely experience of driving in San Jose and the Santa Ana area is what is going to get you there. If you take the Firestone-Bridgestone exit you will have to weave your way through to the Santa Ana entrance of the new highway. It would be shorter to go to La Garita and find the new entrance for that community.

[quote=”wspeed1195″]it’s the santa ana Belen exit.
it’s 9 km from the new highway.
which,as posted is the exit for the pizza hut and rosti pollo.[/quote]

I have no idea why you would drive back 10 minutes to San Jose, turn right and drive another 15-20 minutes, depending on traffic, to get to this new highway?????? Have you ever been in the Lindora area traffic???? Hello????
Winthin less time than that you could be further down the road getting on in LaGarita for the time being. Once the new Coyol entrance is open, it will then be the best route.
Just because you know how to get to the new highway doesn’t mean it is any where near the closest or best route.

[quote=”jdocop”]Ione, you seem to know whereof you speak, so let me ask this: What is the quickest way to get to the airport, from the new highway? Get off at LaGarita, as you mentioned? (We had business in Santa Ana yesterday, and got there by turning right immediately after the airport, and working our way down…..then, we picked up the new highway just about 1 km from the business offices we had gone to visit……….that was actually quite easy, so now if I can just figure out how to get to the airport, knowing that reversing this route won’t work, ’cause you can’t make a left turn at the airport coming up from Santa Ana…………[/quote]

JD,
I am a little bit confused as to your directions or routes.
As I mentioned earlier, the Coyol airport exit is still under construction. You could still use this exit but you need to know how to weave your way through Ciruelas and Coyol to get the backside route to the airport. I would still suggest getting off in LaGarita and that should put you within 20 minutes of the airport. If you are going to Santa Ana, of course that is the best exit for there. The distance and traffic between the Santa Ana exit and the airport is not worth using that route to access the airport.
Don’t know if this helps or not. Obviously this is complicated by the irregular routes necessary to traverse the San Jose area.

[quote=”Ione”][quote=”jdocop”]Ione, you seem to know whereof you speak, so let me ask this: What is the quickest way to get to the airport, from the new highway? Get off at LaGarita, as you mentioned? (We had business in Santa Ana yesterday, and got there by turning right immediately after the airport, and working our way down…..then, we picked up the new highway just about 1 km from the business offices we had gone to visit……….that was actually quite easy, so now if I can just figure out how to get to the airport, knowing that reversing this route won’t work, ’cause you can’t make a left turn at the airport coming up from Santa Ana…………[/quote]

JD,
I am a little bit confused as to your directions or routes.
As I mentioned earlier, the Coyol airport exit is still under construction. You could still use this exit but you need to know how to weave your way through Ciruelas and Coyol to get the backside route to the airport. I would still suggest getting off in LaGarita and that should put you within 20 minutes of the airport. If you are going to Santa Ana, of course that is the best exit for there. The distance and traffic between the Santa Ana exit and the airport is not worth using that route to access the airport.
Don’t know if this helps or not. Obviously this is complicated by the irregular routes necessary to traverse the San Jose area.[/quote]

I take it the Coyol exit is between the La garita and Santa Ana exits on the new toll way. I know the Santa Ana exit and the back way to the airport past the panasonic plant. I am familiar with la Garita, but not where the exit might be located but that is ok, however Coyol is a new location to me. Sounds like a place I might not have seen since my last trip was november when the toll road ended near Cuidad Colon as I headed west from santa ana. Anything notable about Coyol?